The Dickinson press., 1887-07-16
HAWKS AND OWLS.
sAVANTS SAY THEY ARE WORTH
$4,000 EACH PER ANNuM.

Pennsylvania Paid 500, 900 Bounty ON
10000 HAWKS snd Lost 81, 600, 900 by
lt-Hawks to Protect Plantations from,
the Rice Bird.
The pathological division OF the depart
ment of agriculture has been engaged for
some time i'll an Investigation of the effect of
TIC law enacted i'll Pennsylvania in 1855 grant
ing II bounty Of fifty cents q head on all
iawks, owls, weascls and minks killed within
the mits of the state. The law was enacted
for the alleged benefit of the farmcrso of Penn
sylvania, and from the time wheni it first went
!!ltn c.t"ct until it WIS repealed Il few weeks
ago something like $4,000 had been paid out
under 1t. The Investigations of the depart
ment show that this sum is but n small frac-
tion of tho direct and Indirect cost of the law
of the state.
1t is found that there are about fifteen
species of hawks and owls i'll the eastern
states. OF these only three varieties ever
feed upon poultry. Within the past six
weeks tho department has examined the
contents of the stomachs of ninety birds
killed i'll the neishborlood of Washington.
In that of Il hawk was found n portion of the
head of Il domestic fowl, which might have
been the o,fal thrown out of some farmers
kltchcl. In the stomach of an owl q portion
OF Il domestic pigeon was discovered. These
two We're the only ones among the ninety in
which there was any Indication of a partial
lty for poultry on the part of tho hawk and
owl family. Nearly all of the other stom-
acls examined contained from ono to five
field mice, as well as IL great many insects
which arc naturally Very destructive to
crops.
SCIENTISTS ESTIMATE.
Upon this showing tho department csti-
mates that each hawk and owl is worth So95
per anmm to the farmers of the country.
The estimate is based upon the assumption
that every field mouse not caught will dam
age crops to the amount of two cents u year.
Tho scientific men Of ledcpartment, who de
light in figures, have come to the conclusion
that il every hawk and owl killed under the
Pennsylvania county law had been allowed to
iiN", The damage done by them would have
amounted, under Il very liberal estimate, to
about $l,S.3 while tho law was in operation.
On the other side of the account book they
charge up the :@o,0dD paid by the state in
tp0tnties and $50 us the value of each bird
killed, and find that from the passage of the
a"tto the date OF its repeal the entire cost
was S3,S11,l $50, besides the damage done in
Tho way OF increased production of the YER
min, because of the depletion in the ranks of
their natural enemies.
While the state of Pennsylvania has been
trying to get rid of the hawks the general
government has been busy dcvising ways to
make them more useful. Negotiations have
been pending for sometime between the chief
ornithologist of the department of agriculture
and IL man who has had IL great deal of expc-
riclice as q traincrof falcons in Europe. These
negotiations are for the purpose of securing
the services of this man to train q number of
hawks for use in tho rice fields of South Caro-
lima. The planters there are clamoring for
some method of Riding their fields of rice
birds, which play frightful havoc with tllcir
crops every year. 1t has been found that tn,
presence of n living hawk in the air over til,
fields of rice will cause the immediate depar
tnre of every bird in the vicinity, Guns
drums and other implements for creating A.:
great noise are only partly successful.
stuffed hawk will do wei! enough for n day OF
tive, but the deprcdators soon learn that tler,
is littleto fear from Il dead enemy. Itisticre
fore proposed to try the effect of trained birds
1t is the prlrposeof the department to begil
with Il small numbcrthis year, and if tho plan
proves successful to the rice bird problem, i
is likely that every rich planter in the soul!
will be supplied i'll the nearfuturc with Il focl
OF falcons.-Ncw York Sun,